There is one thing in life that you are the best at and that is being you. No one else can do that for you. Only you can be the best you.
To be at our best, we need to know the complete package of who we are and who we are capable of becoming.
5 reasons why it’s important to know yourself:
1. Stewardship: You are created with a unique design and purpose, not to be a clone of everyone around you. Discovering your design and purpose, and then being authentically true to that is honoring of your creator and it’s how you put your best foot forward in this world.
2. Authenticity. The more clear you can become on who you are, the more clear you are about who you are not. By the way, trying to be more than you are or less than you are, is an identity that is rooted in ego.
3. Fulfillment. As you understand your unique design, you can more confidently step into your full potential. For example, I once read that ENFJ’s (which is what I am) are often effective communicators. At that time, I was starting to do more teaching/ preaching at our church and so knowing this gave me more confidence to keep saying “yes” to speaking opportunities. Being more confident in public speaking helped it to become more fulfilling and fun.
4. Capacity. As you discover your strengths and focus on operating out of those, it will increase your capacity for work and/ or service. Operating out of weaknesses is exhausting, draining, frustrating and overwhelming. One of the best inventories for identification of strengths that I know of is Clifton’s Strengthfinder. With a purchase of the book Strengthfinder, you gain access to an online test that will give you very helpful results. I highly recommend it; it’s worth every penny you spend on the book.
5. Relationships. Knowing what you enjoy, what brings you life, what wears you down, how you process thoughts and ideas, how you view the world, and how you make decisions will help you relate better to those around you. Especially, then, when you can also learn those things about others in your life. Bringing your true self to relationships, and allowing others to also be who they are, takes relationships to a whole new level of joy and synergy.
How about you?
Why is it important for you to know how you are wired? How well do you feel you know who you are?
Resources for knowing yourself (and others) better:
Type Talk: An oldie but goodie. It has been a great resource for the Meijers Briggs Personality Inventory.
The Road Back To You: A fairly easy but insightful read on the Enneagram
The Sacred Enneagram: Widely read and very helpful
Clifton Strengthfinder: With the purchase of this book, you get an assessment that helps you find your top 5 strengths. This book gave me a new language for strengths that I had not given a name to. Extremely helpful.